The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1887-09-15

10 give the state TO the republicans. The
average Californian is prominently,
above all things else, a gambler. In his
mind the almighty dollar takes pre-
cedence above all parties, scots and CON
ditions; that he devotes his spare mo-
ments to politics is only that he may
thereby pull in few more sheckels. The
true reason may be found in the fact that
most all the land worth having in this
state is held by rich men and corporations
in very large tracts. These parties, by
organizing themselves into so-called
"board of trade" in the various counties
and spending millions in advertising, have
now got things to booming" lin their
own language) on eastern capital, selling
$40 land at 800 or more per acre. Al
most every well dressed stranger seen on
the streets is spoken of as an eastern cap
italist looking for investment, etc. Bust
ness men are turning their stores into
real estate Offices, and the Californian is
In his glory, for it's new gamble, the
streets having been MIXED so often in
mining stocks that new craze is a reg
ular God-send.
1t ia question il these booms are not
a positive injury to the country. Cali
fornia has been struggling for ten years,
and had just about recovered from the
effects of the realty and mining stock
craze of 1915, and for several years lots
and blocks of land have been thrown on
the market by weekly sales at auction and
sold for what they were actually worth.
These lots were most all Immediately built
upon, thus creating activity. This has
given San Francisco and Oakland q
healthy tone and steady growth, which
the new boom will speedily dissipate, as
nine out of ten will buy only for rise,
and will ask all the property will bring
twelve years hence. California is no place
for a poor man who earns his bread by
the sweat of his brow
In the first place, manufacturing here
is in its infancy (although it Is steadily
growing), 30 there is but a limited de-
mand for mechanics-of which there Ia
always a surplus, Notwithstanding the CRY
"for more help;" and outside of San Fran
| cisco and one or two lesser towns me-
chanics are likely to 60 hungry oftener
than is pleasant. Agricultural laborers
| (of which there is such a cry of scarcity
could probably be had here in sufficient
numbers to supply the demand were they
treated more like human beings and less
like beasts of the field. Eastern farm
hands who have tried IL, have repeatedly
been heard declare they would rather run
the risk of an odd job and "hand to
mouth" existence in the city than the $25
per month and the life they are required
to live in the country. The Chinese are
likely to continue to be the agricultural
laborers of California, until the customs
change or the white man desoends several
degrees more in the scale of civilization,
toward a mere animal existence.
The struggle for existence is as fierce
in California as in any part of the United
States, and the man who comes here ex-
pecting to tumble into a soft thing will
find himself "badly left" If he has the
constitution and cheek of government
mule, and can do the work of six-horse-
power steam engine, he may pass. Again,
what can poor man do toward getting q
home with land at $500 to $1,000 per
acre, improved; or $75 to 800 per acre
for wild land on some mountain side,
where the soil Is as scarce as is the water.
Better land can be had east of the Rocky
mountains for paying the tax on it. But
then it's the GLORIOUS climate" one pays
for here. In the words of an old Iowa
farmer who had "taken in" the state and
was speaking of land in Santa Clara
county, ~ estimate the land to be worth
$25 to $50 per acre; suppose the other
$3.50 per acre Is for the climate" Since
the "boom" struck us, climate has gone up
to $3.50 per acre! A word of advice to
young men; Don't 20 to California.
The same energy, ability and experience
exerted in one of the middle states will
place you in higher position, financially
land think l may safely add, socially
and morally than you could acquire here
| in the same time.
Probably nowhere else is ones social
and moral worth gagged 80 largely by the
size OF his bank account.
The fruit crop is large, and the cry goes
over the country, California hasn't help
enough to put it up" But the cannerys
want women and girls who will work for
less than will pay a mans board. The
few places requiring men are largely
| filed by Cinnamon, while white men can
be seen hanging around the doors, wait
ing for any odd jobs that may turn up.
Then the moral atmosphere Of q San
Francisco cannery Is such that very many
women shrink from seeking employment
there. Laborers in San Francisco get
$3.50 to $1.75 per day, and many meohan-
les are working as low as So to $12 per
week. See evidence given before the
state labor commissioner. On the other
side of this question, California is about
as pleasant place to live as enc can find,
If well supplied with the "needful." How
ever, most any place can be made pleasant
with that. ILLINoIsAN,
Nine years in California.